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Thursday, August 9, 2012

London Calling: Usain, the “Living Legend”

Is Usain Bolt of Jamaica the greatest sprinter ever? The case could certainly be made after an amazing run on Thursday in the London Games.
Bolt put his name in the record book by becoming the first man to successfully defend both the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash in the Olympics. He accomplished this on Thursday night by winning the 200-meter sprint with a time of 19.32 seconds.

According to the BBC, Bolt “ran a brilliant bend from lane seven to lead by a meter coming into the straight.

Glancing to his left he was aware of (fellow Jamaican Yohan) Blake closing in a fraction at 150m, but held his form to cross the line with a finger to his lips”.

After the race, Bolt boasted that his victory made him a “living legend” while Blake acknowledged that he is “the god of track and field.”

Bolt also praised iconic sprinter Jesse Owens yet he criticized Carl Lewis who in the past has cast doubts on Jamaica’s drug testing program for runners.

“Carl Lewis, I have no respect for him. The things he says about other track athletes is really downgrading other athletes. I think he is looking for attention because no one really talks much about him,” said Bolt at a press conference.

Bolt will be looking to add a sixth Olympics gold this weekend in the 4x100 meter relay, an event Jamaica won in Beijing four years ago.

Several Latin American athletes made it to the medal stand on Thursday including:

The Brazilian duo of Emanuel Rego and Alison Cerutt were upset in the gold medal match of men’s beach volleyball.

Leonel Suarez of Cuba earned the bronze medal in the decathlon after winning the event’s high jump and javelin portions.